Fall Out Boy - Infinity on High
Rating
RIYL
The All American RejectsPanic! At The Disco
Relient K
Taking Back Sunday
Label
IslandTracklist
1. Thriller2. The Take Over, The Break's Over
3. This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race
4. I'm Like A Lawyer With The Way I'm Always Trying To Get You Off (Me & You)
5. Hum Hallelujah
6. Golden
7. Thnks Fr Th Mmrs
8. Don't You Know Who I Think I Am?
9. The (After) Life Of The Party
10. The Carpal Tunnel Of Love
11. Bang The Doldrums
12. Fame-Infamy
13. You're Crashing, But You're No Wave
14. I've Got All This Ringing In My Ears And None On My Fingers
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To many, Jay Z being the first thing they hear on a Fall Out Boy record will be a little jarring. From Chicago’s best kept secret to poster-boys of the MySpace generation, the band always took fame as secondary to the love and respect of their fans. So with new album Infinity On High boasting collaborations with Jigga and production from R&B super producer Babyface, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch for fans to begin wondering if all those cries of ‘sellout’ they’ve been ignoring may be ringing true.
The most noticeable thing about the album on first inspection is that this is certainly their most polished work to date. The production is slick, sugary sweet and sounds huge. Anyone still clinging to the rough around the edges pop hardcore incarnation of the band will be dismayed. However, those growing with the band will be rewarded with the bands best and most accomplished record in their career. For what makes Infinity On High so special is that it marks the first time that a true bond between the bands’ powerhouses, bassist Pete Wentz and vocalist Patrick Stump, is fully realized.
As always, Wentz’s lyrics are bitter, cathartic, humorous and on point; the opening salvo, for instance; “Last summer we took 3’s across the board, but by fall we were a cover story: ‘now in stores’”. Based on past albums, you would be forgiven for thinking it was all simply ‘the Pete show’; the music simply there as a saccharine platform for the most public of journals. This is no longer the case. Stump shines bright on every track here. His soulful, sassy vocals are better than ever, but more importantly his arrangements are to die for. His unabashed and rather vocal love of Bacharach and epic sounding pop are finally given an airing in full force. If the pop element of Fall Out Boy’s back catalog made you bristle, then Infinity On High is quite simply not for you. The new songs are big, bold and colorful, the sonic palette no longer restricted, Stump crafting true pop gems that often border on epic, leaving the bark and the bite to Wentz’s lyrics.
Infinity On High also marks another first for the band, in the form of ballads. The heart wrenching piano and choir backing on "Golden" signifies a bold step forward for the band, yet it is "The (After) Life of the Party" that truly steals the show. With a gorgeous emotional depth that is utterly palpable, this is quite possibly the best track Fall Out Boy have recorded.
All is not lost, however, for fans not too keen in sharing the bands new bigger and shinier sound, as tracks like "THNKS FR TH MMRS" and "Bang The Doldrums" take their sugary pop-punk and stir in a little spice.
To conclude, as the band note on opener "Thriller", up there with "The (After) Life…" amongst their best work;
But our hearts beat for the diehards”.
The fact that an artist who has sold more albums in his opening week than many of Fall Out Boy’s peers will sell in a career goes lengths to show just how big a deal this band has become. But far from rehashing the tried and tested, the band have come out unashamedly bigger and brighter, and all the better for it, producing a genuine modern pop masterpiece of an album.
--Alex Davies
Comments
The album is not bad, I said it before, these guys write catchy pop songs, and maybe are the best at it in the pop punk world...
blockbuster
Colorado Springs, CO
HA!! Agreed. WTF, Alex?
Minnesota
...... I think I need to go take a shower I feel so dirty.
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Cincinnasty, OH
Columbus, Ohio
Recommending: Anberlin, Interpol, Chamberlain, House of Heroes
Dammit - your genitalia make it into more discussion threads....
I expect to see this one of the highest ranking blogs as far as comments before the dust dies down.
"These are our lives, but did they ever even matter - are we worth remembering?"
- "Tip The Scales"
Rise Against
blockbuster
we need to have two reviewers for big albums like this (and other popular stuff like Relient K) to make an average score, because 4.5 stars for this shit just isnt flying
Washington, DC
AZ
www.myspace.com/arcoftheaurora
Manchester, England
You've got your kids who like to patrol the savoury isles, waiting for the prime rib steaks of These Arms Are Snakes and Aerogramme to be delivered.
then you've got the kids loitering in the candy isles, waiting for the next big sugar rush.
and I know a lot of you dont dig this band, but I think that the comments thusfar mostly supprt my stance that this is the best pop release in a long while.
Dubuque
I could say the same thing about other releases that we give 4.5 that I don't agree with, but who cares?
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"These are our lives, but did they ever even matter - are we worth remembering?"
- "Tip The Scales"
Rise Against
Manchester, England
Ive met Pete and interviewed Patrick, and I have nothing but great things to say about them. patrick was the most humble and down to earth person I've interviewed, and pete made a point of coming up to me and introducing himself and shaking hands and stuff. ive never heard a bad word against them regarding treatment of fans.
Minnesota
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Manchester, England
Atascadero, CA
Decoymusic.com (CEO/Founder)
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Manchester, England
Colorado Springs, CO
This band gets plenty of attention from the rest of the world, whether we like it or not, without Decoy giving it a great review. I'm glad Alex thinks this album is good, but these sell-out fuckers don't need our help. (And yes, I do think they're sell-out fuckers) I think we would've been a little happier with a 3 star review of a band we've mostly never heard of. Decoy is about helping us find great music, but most of us think that FOB is just another flash in the pan, not a band that creates great music.
Columbus, Ohio
Recommending: Anberlin, Interpol, Chamberlain, House of Heroes
Minnesota
Find me EVERYWHERE:
No offense to you, man, but that sounds kinda snobbish. At the same time, I feel what you're saying and can agree, but "flash in the pan" is what Pop music essentially is. If we're not going to rate an album by the standards it was put out to be like (they put that out as a pop/punk album - stressing the pop - if they had released this, marketing to a metal world... it'd be different) then why bother reviewing it at all. I, honestly, would partially love to have seen this album having them fall flat on their faces because I'm sick of hearing about them. It'd also be different if Alex were the only one saying this was good - I think that'd be grounds for saying "you're playing your favorite band up".. but it's apparently not the case.
Decoy would, ideally, be a good place for anyone that's a fan of music to come to and learn of artists that fit their tastes. It's like reviewing movies... you follow what different reviewers say about things.. you figure out which ones have similar taste to yours and you use that as a barometer for whether you'd like an album. If I wanted a damn good pop album, I'd probably follow what Alex is recommending. If I wanted some heavy ass stuff, "what's Jared bragging about these days?" It is what it is... I think, via these comments, that anyone who comes on our board will see that it's not the perfect "for everyone" album and then decide whether Alex's tatses mimic their own.
"These are our lives, but did they ever even matter - are we worth remembering?"
- "Tip The Scales"
Rise Against
Columbus, Ohio
What is FOB doing differently now than they were in 2003? Has their music changed? Not that I can tell.
Recommending: Anberlin, Interpol, Chamberlain, House of Heroes